Shuster presses FAA for report on in-flight cell phone use

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) pressed the FAA on Thursday for an overdue report on the impact of in-flight cell phone use in the wake of the FCC’s announcement that it may lift the current ban on in-flight calls.

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 directed the FAA to explore how in-flight cell phone use would impact the safety and flying experience of passengers and airline staff. The FAA was supposed to document its findings in a report to Congress by November 2012.

Shuster and Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Ranking Member Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) requested the overdue report in a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

“We applaud (the FAA’s) recent decision to expand the use of certain portable electronic devices for passengers on commercial airlines,” Shuster and Thune said. “…The FCC recently announced a plan to go a step beyond the FAA’s recent action on portable electronic devices by reviewing the current ban on the use of cell phones for voice communication in-flight.”

The FCC is considering going forward with a notice of proposed rule making at a meeting on Dec. 12. The move would initiate the process to lift the ban on in-flight cell phone use.

“As the FCC considers moving forward with a notice of proposed rule making … the results of the FAA’s overdue study and report are particularly pertinent to Congress and the American public,” Shuster and Thune said.